Bruins reportedly looking to trade with Canucks
The slumping Boston Bruins have fallen out of the top three positions in the Atlantic Division and are barely hanging on to a playoff spot as the team moves into the second half of the regular season. This perennial contender is in danger of becoming an also-ran that misses the playoffs, an outlook that the team's management looks at as completely unacceptable. The biggest problem the Bruins appear to have is a lack of scoring, and there are reports that the team is interested in making a trade with the Vancouver Canucks to address that weakness.
According to a published report from RG.org, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney has made inquiries to the Canucks about the availabilities of centers J.T. Miller and Elias Petterson. The Bruins are hoping to improve their goal scoring, and the report indicates that either one of the Canucks' centers might be able to help them in that area. The report quoted an NHL executive as saying, “They're talking to them.”
The 31-year-old Miller has been a proven scorer during his career with the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning and the Canucks. Miller had his most prolific scoring season a year ago. He scored 37 goals and 66 assists las year for 103 points while finishing the year with a plus-32 rating. Miller has scored 8 goals and 21 assists for 29 points in 30 games so far this season.
Pettersson, 26, is in his seventh season with the Canucks. He scored a career-high 39 goals and 63 assists in 2022-23 and he followed up with 34 goals and 55 assists last year. His scoring is not at that level this season. He has put the puck in the net 10 times and he has 18 assists.
Bruins would have to make solid offer to acquire either of those centers
Published reports indicate that the Bruins might be willing to offer Trent Frederic as part of the return for either Miller or Pettersson. Frederic has been struggling to score this year, but he is also known for his ability to stand up and fight for his teammates. Frederic has just 6 goals and 6 assists in 44 games this season.
That is a big comedown from his 18 goals and 22 assists that he scored last season. Frederic appeared to be on a similar path to Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson as a player who combined a willingness to fight and stand up for teammates with an ability to produce key goals. However, his lack of scoring this year may mean that the Bruins would have to sweeten a potential deal by adding a young defenseman like Mason Lohrei or minor league center Matthew Poitras to any potential trade.
